The medical examiner in war

Loss of human life is one of the tragic costs of war. While combat deaths are expected, non-combat deaths during a military operation often come as a surprise to military planners and the public. During operation Desert Storm, all United States deaths related to the Gulf War were classified according to circumstances as either hostile or non-hostile. We reviewed all deaths classified as non-hostile during Operation Desert Storm, from January 16, 1991 through April 17, 1991. These deaths were compared with the death recorded for all Armed Forces personnel during a recent year (fiscal year 1989) in which there was no hostile activity. The emphasis is on cause and manner of death. Representative cases are briefly discussed.